If you've read message boards devoted to the recent attacks in New York and
DC, you've seen a lot of negative commentary on both our country and what it
means to be American. In this case, a man from another country spoke in our
defense.
This is from a Canadian newspaper and IS worth sharing.......
America: The Good Neighbor.
Widespread but only partial news coverage was given recently to a
remarkable editorial broadcast from Toronto by Gordon Sinclair, a
Canadian television commentator. What follows is the full text of his
broadcast.
"This Canadian thinks it is time to speak up for the Americans as
the most generous and possibly the least appreciated people on all the
earth.
Germany, Japan and, to a lesser extent, Britain and Italy were
lifted out of the debris of war by the Americans who poured in billions of
dollars and forgave other billions in debts. None of these countries is
today
paying even the interest on its remaining debts to the United States.
When France was in danger of collapsing in 1956, it was the Americans who
propped it up, and their reward was to be insulted and swindled on the
streets
of Paris. I was there. I saw it.
When earthquakes hit distant cities, it is the United States that hurries
in to
help. This spring, 59 American communities were flattened by tornadoes.
Nobody helped.
The Marshall Plan and the Truman Policy pumped billions of dollars into
discouraged countries. Now newspapers in those countries are writing about
the decadent, warmongering Americans.
I'd like to see just one of those countries that is gloating over the
erosion
of the United States dollar build its own airplane. Does any other country
in the world have a plane to equal the Boeing Jumbo Jet, the Lockheed
Tri-Star, or the Douglas DC10? If so, why don't they fly them? Why
do all the International lines except Russia fly American Planes?
Why does no other land on earth even consider putting a man or woman
on the moon? You talk about Japanese technocracy, and you get radios. You
talk about German technocracy, and you get automobiles.
You talk about American technocracy, and you find men on the moon -
not once, but several times - and safely home again.
You talk about scandals, and the Americans put theirs right in the store
window for everybody to look at. Even their draft-dodgers are not pursued
and hounded. They are here on our streets, and most of them, unless they
are breaking Canadian laws, are getting American dollars from ma and pa at
home to spend here.
When the railways of France, Germany and India were breaking down
through age, it was the Americans who rebuilt them. When the Pennsylvania
Railroad and the New York Central went broke, nobody loaned them an
old caboose. Both are still broke.
I can name you 5000 times when the Americans raced to the help of other
people in trouble. Can you name me even one time when someone else
raced to the Americans in trouble? I don't think there was outside help
even
during the San Francisco earthquake.
Our neighbors have faced it alone, and I'm one Canadian who is damned
tired
of hearing them get kicked around. They will come out of this thing with
their
flag high. And when they do, they are entitled to thumb their nose at the
lands
that are gloating over their present troubles. I hope Canada is not one of
those."
Stand proud, America!
This is one of the best editorials that I have ever read regarding the
United States.
It is nice that one man realizes it. I only wish that the rest of the
world would
realize it. We are always blamed for everything, and never even get a
thank you
for the things we do.
I would hope that each of you would send this to as many people as you can
and
emphasize that they should send it to as many of their friends until this
letter is sent
to every person on the web. I am just a single American that has read
this, I
SURE HOPE THAT A LOT MORE READ IT SOON.
Stand proud, America
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